Background: The effect of weekend admission and surgery on patient morbidity and mortality has been studied in many settings and has been shown to lead to worse outcomes. Several studies have sought to determine whether there is a weekend effect in kidney transplantation specifically, but a clear effect on outcomes and graft survival has not been established.
Methods: We analyzed data from all deceased-donor organ procurements and cadaveric kidney transplants occurring during the 5-year period between Apr. 1, 2013, and Dec. 31, 2017, included in the database of the Trillium Gift of Life Network, Ontario's organ and tissue donation agency.
Results: A total of 1116 deceased donor nephrectomies (DNs) and 1858 recipient procedures were performed in Ontario during the study period. The overall rate of after-hours DNs on weekdays was significantly greater than during working hours (23.1/30 d v. 15.4/30 d, p < 0.001). Donations after neurological determination of death were more frequent during weekday working hours (22.8/30 d) than after hours on weekdays (17.3/30 d, p < 0.001) or weekends (16.3/30 d, p < 0.001), whereas donations after cardiac death were significantly more frequent after hours on weekdays than during working hours (10.3/30 d v. 7.7/30 d, p = 0.021). On weekdays, mean warm ischemia time (WIT) was significantly longer after hours than during working hours (40.75 ± 12.26 min v. 38.52 ± 11.92 min, p = 0.017). Similarly, mean WIT was longer after hours than during working hours on weekends (40.23 ± 12.48 min v. 38.59 ± 11.91 min, p = 0.015).
Conclusion: Kidney transplantations occurred more frequently after hours and were associated with increased WIT. Further study is needed across multiple Canadian centres to better understand the temporal patterns of kidney transplantation and implications for patients, providers, and health care systems.
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